miamivicefandomcom-20200223-history
Over the Line
"Over the Line" is the fifteenth episode of Miami Vice's fifth season. The episode premiered on April 28, 1989. Summary A team of vigilante police officers attempt to recruit Crockett & Tubbs to their cause. Plot Crockett & Tubbs are on a stakeout for a minor dealer named Tommy T., hoping to be able to bust him and get him to name his new source. The deal is going down and they move in (without backup) when an ice cream truck heads down the street, warning Tommy & the others about the cops, everyone inside runs off and the ice cream driver gets away as well after knocking Tubbs off the truck. Castillo and Captain Richard Highsmith (Robert Fields) are having breakfast and discussing the department's budget, which the Captain wants to cut back, and who has political aspirations for County Supervisor, as well as eliminate desk jobs, including himself & Castillo. Castillo reminds Highsmith you don't fight drug wars with PR, and the Captain, a little disgusted, walks away. At OCB, the team tries to figure out who tipped off Tommy, and the ice cream truck was stolen. Then they review the proposed budget cuts, and the team understandably is upset about how they are expected to do their jobs with less resources and funding, and Crockett storms out in frustration. Izzy is pitching (actually reading off a card) some Repti-Gel sunblock products when Crockett & Tubbs stop by to pump information on Tommy, and find he works for Reginald Hawkins (who Tubbs knows as a dealer from New York), that he doesn't know why either Hawkins or Dr. Dinky would have tipped him off, and they go check Hawkins (John Galateo) out, and (as Burnett & Cooper) offer to pay top dollar for a new shipment. Just then the ice cream driver Johnny (Anthony Barille) shows up and tells Hawkins that they ripped off Timmy (but doesn't blow their cover), and threatens to kill them unless they leave now. Then a battery of suited men take Crockett & Tubbs away in government-looking cars. A group of men, led by Walter Stevens (Tomas Arana), who are also law enforcement officers that are tired of the system as it is now, letting criminals free at an alarming rate for nothing, tells Crockett & Tubbs they've been watched, are impressed with their performance, know they are as frustrated with the system as the shadow team (and lets them know they were the ones behind the ice cream truck tip), wants them to join their cause, and they'll be in touch. Hawkins meets Victor Escalante while playing golf and makes a deal for arms that he'll fill in 48 hours (that they don't have). Hawkins arranges for his team to steal arms (including plastique) for the deal. Tubbs gets a call that Stevens' group would put on a demonstration that afternoon, they are picked up in a limo and taken to a meet where Hawkins steals the weapons for his deal with Escalante (with Johnny's help), and Stevens asks the Vice cops again to join their team, if they decide not to they will be let out of the limo, no questions asked. If they do join and the mysterious men are revealed, they can never get out. They agree to join, and Stevens reveals himself. Castillo meets with Crockett & Tubbs in a remote location (having had his office swept for bugs) and the Vice cops reveal the information on Stevens' group, Castillo fears people could get hurt because they won't be able to get them all, and allows them to get inside as far as they can, without people getting hurt. Johnny reveals to Stevens that he isn't sure what they do is the right thing, Crockett relates a story about Escalante hitting a Contra arms dealer in a crowded mall, killing him and 11 others, including children, and Escalante did no jail time. Crockett feels conflicted about playing both sides in this, and Tubbs goes to see Johnny to encourage him as a good cop, Johnny tells a story about a PCP dealer blowing his partner away from behind a door, and the dealer got off by a public defender. After he joined Stevens, they planted heroin on him and he was sent to jail for 15 years, then was killed two months ago in prison. Stevens talks to Crockett on what got him started in this operation, after he was shot on duty he was put into records, he was never recalled to duty because he had "little leadership potential", so he put together his own team, and wants Crockett to see who his players are. They are driven to the location where Johnny & Hawkins are dealing for the plastique, while two policemen are conducting campaign activities for Highsmith. The dealers see the cops outside and they panic, Hawkins shoots them down, and the arms dealer too for shortchanging him. Crockett instinctively wants to radio for help but Stevens asks him not to, as it would arouse suspicion as to why they were there and why they took no action, but Crockett calls it in from a phone. Castillo surveys the crime scene and blames himself for one of the cops dying. Highsmith shows up and Castillo lets him know about his suspicions and that everyone involved will go down that night. Johnny wants out because of the cop shootings, Stevens lets him out with his word of silence. Tubbs tries to keep Johnny around until after the meet that night but his mind is made up and he leaves. Stevens talks to Crockett about how tough it is to make the hard decisions, and how he became a cop, then Johnny is shot down in a drive-by shortly after leaving, and Crockett hears the shot and screeching tires. Castillo and the team are staked out at the meet location, but there also is a battery of Stevens' men, including Crockett & Tubbs, who stop them cold, Tubbs moves in to arrest Hawkins and Escalante, and a shootout takes place between Stevens' men that weren't arrested, Hawkins' men and SRT/Vice. Numerous rogue cops and bad guys are killed, Stevens is leaving with some drugs to continue funding his organization when Crockett moves in to arrest him, when Stevens was about to reveal just how high his organization goes Highsmith shoots Stevens down, claiming to have saved Crockett's life, despite his protests to the contrary. Highsmith is on TV that evening gloating on his accomplishment, which gives Crockett an idea of just how high it goes, then turns off the TV in disgust. Notes *Robert Fields would play Highsmith again in the series finale "Freefall". *Anthony Barrile starred as Vincent "Alphabet" Languilli in the 1987 Vietnam War drama Hamburger Hill. *In the opening sequence, Tubbs is not in his usual '63 Cadillac Convertible, but in a 70's Chevrolet Convertible. Music *"I'm Life" by The Fixx (Hawkins/Escalante deal and shootout) Quotes *"I wonder why the people in the dope business are never on time? -- Tubbs at stakeout *"Well, maybe Slick (Highsmith) would like to come out of his mink-lined office and live with us in the gutter out here for a week!" -- Crockett about the budget cuts Category:Miami Vice Season 5 Episodes